Atlus has given the plot details as well as the North American release timeframe regarding its upcoming GameBoy Advance title Lufia: The Ruins of Lore on its official website.

According to the website, the story of Lufia: The Ruins of Lore unfolds in a world where the military kingdom of Gratze has begun attacking its peaceful neighbors. This sudden aggressiveness stems from a man named Ragule, an obscure foreigner who climbed the ladder of power up to the favor of the king. Ragule intends to locate and release a powerful legendary beast in order to use its incredible strength to attain world domination.

On the other side of this world, a priestess named Rubius sets out to find the magical stones that tell of the location to the sealed beast. She meets Eldin, the main character, and his friends Torma and Rami, and tells them of Ragule's sinister intentions. Together, they plan to stop Ragule's dark plans, even if that means traveling great distances, crawling through deep dungeons, and even traveling through time.

Unlike its predecessor, Lufia: The Legend Returns, only one dungeon will be randomly generated - the Ancient Cave, which was first featured in Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals. This time, up to four players can conquer the Ancient Cave together via cable link-up. Capsule monsters, also reminiscent of Lufia II, will return, with the added features of monster fusion and trading.

Atlus has set the target release in North America for Lufia: The Ruins of Lore as March of this year, with no specific date posted.

Thanks to Andrea Robinson for the heads-up.

Update: According to a press release from Atlus, the target shipment time for Lufia: The Ruins of Lore has been changed due to the discovery of a minor bug. Atlus intends to correct the glitch and ship the game in late April.